Alan Sobel has voiced objections to franchise agreement with Comcast since April 2010

By John Aguilar For Hometown Weekly

Posted:
11/20/2012 01:04:40 PM MST

Most cities and towns have them -- residents who make their elected leaders squirm, roll their eyes or think in ways they hadn't before.

They're called muckrackers, gadflies, detractors, government watchdogs. They make themselves known in different ways -- by fulminating at the lectern about life's injustices, by pressing hard on local issues or by reminding elected leaders that they ultimately hold their positions to serve the people who put them in office.

Few, however, have devoted themselves for so long and so single-mindedly to a topic as has Louisville resident Alan Sobel, who has spent the past 2 1/2 years regularly delivering a self-described "filibuster" at council meetings regarding the city's approach to its cable and Internet franchise agreement.

Alan Sobel addresses the Louisville City Council on Sept. 4 in this image captured from the city's public-access broadcast of the meeting. Earlier this month, Sobel announced he would end his 2 ½-year, self-proclaimed "filibuster" before the council on issues relating to the city's cable franchise agreement.
(City of Louisville, Courtesy photo)

Sobel has spent his allotted three minutes at meetings appealing to city leaders to be more transparent about the way they inform residents about the cable giant's business practices. Then he would engage in a form of silent protest -- standing through the rest of the meeting, hands in his pockets.

But that effort, part and parcel of just about every Louisville City Council meeting since April 6, 2010, comes to an end Tuesday night, Nov. 20.

At the council's Nov. 5 meeting, Sobel announced he was ending his filibuster in the wake of a decision by the council to consent to the conversion of the Greater Metro Telecommunications Consortium from a public body to a non-profit corporation. The GMTC's purpose is to coordinate efforts among 33 member towns and cities when it comes to crafting and implementing cable franchises.

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Sobel said the privatization of the GMTC would hand more power to the cable industry and leave Louisville's 4,000 cable customers with "no voice in this process."

"Comcast's priorities on this are to keep Louisville residents uninformed and uninvolved in this matter," he told the council.

Despite backing off the public war of words when it comes to Comcast, Sobel told the council he hoped his vigilance on the matter raised some awareness.

"The small accomplishment of this filibuster has been to cast some sunshine on the long-time practice of the Louisville City Council when it comes to cable and Internet matters of steadfastly representing the interests of the cable company rather than the interests of Louisville residents," he said on Nov. 5.

Sobel declined a phone interview with the Camera on Monday, saying that he would only agree to an off-the-record meeting.

'Free and open government'

Mayor Bob Muckle said he won't particularly miss hearing from Sobel about Comcast, but said he still is happy to hear from him on any other topic he finds important."It's the price of a free and open government -- that people get their chance to speak their piece," he said.

Muckle and other city leaders acknowledged that Sobel's concern about the city's cable franchise agreement actually has yielded some positive changes. City Manager Malcolm Fleming said Sobel's objection to Comcast's policy of informing the public about rate and other changes through legal notices in the newspaper as insufficient led to the company sending out that information in customers' bills.

"To this day, if they're going to change the channel line-up or increase the subscription rates, they include a notice in the bill," Fleming said. "On a couple of occasions, Alan has been absolutely right that Comcast wasn't giving sufficient notice."

But on other issues, such as the role of the GMTC or Louisville's supposed level of control over cable rates, Fleming said Sobel has repeatedly asked Louisville to do things the city doesn't have the power to do or hasn't been specific about what he wants. And increasingly, he said, Sobel is preaching to a choir of one.

"I think it's Alan creating an issue that isn't of importance to a lot of people," Fleming said. "We haven't had anybody else corroborate Alan's concern and support Alan, so at some point, it doesn't seem like a constructive use of the council's limited time and the public's limited time."

'Non-issue in Louisville'

Louisville Councilman Ron Sackett took offense to Sobel's unrelenting criticism of the City Council, telling him at the last meeting that his concerns about Comcast were a "non-issue in Louisville."

"Not a single citizen, besides you, ever spoke to me about this project," Sackett said with some exasperation. "I'm sorry for you, but you just missed the target here."

Michael Menaker, who himself speaks frequently before the council, said he admires Sobel's "dedication and the courage of his convictions," even if he is not always in agreement with his fellow resident. He said it's important for Louisville to keep public comment as open and welcoming a process as possible.

"I think it's wonderful to live in this city, where citizens have the right to talk to their government," Menaker said Monday. "I certainly have taken my opportunities and wouldn't begrudge anyone theirs."